At The Quick and the Ed, Kevin Carey attempts to take on Diane Ravitch’s criticism of Race to the Top, accusing her of…well, I’m not sure exactly. But his criticism of Ravitch’s take on tying teacher evaluations to test scores is noteworthy.
No state has ever really tied teacher evaluations to test scores in a methodologically valid way and made those evaluations meaningful in terms of compensation, hiring, tenure, and other things people care about. So Ravitch is just engaging in garden variety chicken-and-egg obstructionism: you can’t prove X works because nobody’s ever tried it; you can’t try X because nobody’s ever proved it works.
Well, no. It’s not that it’s never been tried. It’s that there is not a way to evaluate teachers fairly by using test scores. I guess I’m obstructionist too, since like Ravitch I don’t see the benefit of coming to vast conclusions based on half-vast data. Commenter Ceolaf nails the problem precisely:
“It is not merely a case of banning a practice or allowing it. Rather, it is a case of mandating it. Require — or pressuring very strongly — states to adopt policies that are unproven is the issue. We knew that seat belts save lives, so requiring states to adopt seatbelt laws made sense. We knew that lowering speed limits saved gas, so requiring states to lower theirs to 55mph made sense. But that is not the case here.”
Just so. But argue that this well-intentioned idea has too many problems to be taken seriously and you’re immediately a status quo loving, running dog lackey of the teachers unions, or as Carey describes Ravitch, the ”go-to name-brand anti-Obama quote on K–12 issues.”
Oy.
Maybe we can make this simple and unambiguous: Accountability? Good. Figuring out if a teacher is competent or incompetent? Very good. Using tests to determine the difference? Not very good. In fact, not possible. Forcing states to do it anyway? Not very smart. Being incurious about the impact such a move will have on education? Unforgivable.
When did “not very good but it’s the best we can do” become a way of making policy? When did suggesting we can do better become heresy?
You go, Robert. In fact, your last two paragraphs ought to run as a continuous- loop TV ad.
Wearing your Teflon vest?
Comment by Nancy Flanagan — August 21, 2009 @ 2:13 pm
I keep coming back to the same idea, frequently voiced by you, Robert: even if test scores were a valid way of weeding out bad teachers, where are the excellent replacement teachers going to come from?
It’s Friday; I’ve finished another grueling week of trying to get 7th graders to learn. There are lots of bright, extremely hard-working teachers at my school and we all struggle. I think a lot of us contemplate quitting or retiring fairly frequently. Every day, every week, is manic-depressive: one student remark slays our morale; another elates us. Most Teach for America teachers say hasta la vista after their two year stint. And then we hear from the Department of Education that the solution to our education woes is to rough up teachers some more. Or to pit them against one another. Joy.
Kevin Carey, here’s what would improve education at my school: more prep time. I’ve read that in countries with high-performing public school systems teachers get 20 hours a week for collaboration and prep. We get about 4. If we got 8, scores would rise. How to pay for this? How about putting a moratorium on new tech purchases for five years? (Now THAT’S heresy!) Twenty years and billions of dollars later, what has the tech revolution in schools really done to improve achievement?
Comment by Ben F — August 21, 2009 @ 8:45 pm
The only thing that makes sense when it comes to teacher evaluation is the amount of growth that the students show from the beginning of the end to the end of the year. If someone brilliant could come up with a proper assessment that shows where a child is academically when he/she enters my classroom and where that same child is at the end of the year, I would be happy. If each child grows, even a little, then surely I have done my job as a teacher. If some children make great strides, then perhaps, I am an outstanding teacher. It is up to me to take all outside factors into consideration and help each child achieve something during the school year.
Comment by Linda Guffey — August 23, 2009 @ 7:48 am
Linda — how about NWEA?
Comment by Stuart Buck — August 23, 2009 @ 4:58 pm
Or, Linda, you are just an average teacher with hand-picked students at your highly regulated charter school where parents are required to volunteer, and kids can’t hold hands, and their shoes need to be properly polished!
I am not saying you are not a great teacher, it’s just that your greatness (or not) may not be measurable by the scores of your students (especially if you taught in a public school that had to take whoever showed up).
Education is not about scores!
Comment by TFT — August 23, 2009 @ 7:11 pm
In our state, charter schools are required to take “whoever shows up.” Our students are admitted by lottery and many of our students struggle academically. We have a very high rate of children living in foster care or being raised by grandparents or relatives other than parents. We use the Core Knowledge curriculum and we believe that it can and will make a difference. I teach grade 5 and strive to reach each child. Uniforms are only a small part of what makes my school different. We do have a high level of parent involvement but operate on a very limited budget. The arts and character education, as well as a classical curriculum, help the students succeed. We try to encourage each child to aim for college. I focus on the whole child and agree tests do not equal education. Thanks.
Comment by Linda Guffey — August 23, 2009 @ 9:01 pm
Dear Stuart, I just learned about NWEA. The students at my school will take MAP tests this week. Yea! There is someone brilliant out there. Thank you.
Comment by Linda Guffey — August 24, 2009 @ 7:40 pm